


Untold Secrets

by GamblingDementor



Category: In the Heights - Miranda
Genre: Aroace Daniela, Bisexual Male Character, Coming Out, Gen, Gossip, Grief/Mourning, Platonic Relationships, Trans Sonny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-24
Updated: 2017-10-10
Packaged: 2019-01-04 21:38:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 11,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12177039
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GamblingDementor/pseuds/GamblingDementor
Summary: Just because she loves gossip doesn't mean Daniela will breach her customers' trust when a promise is made. Thirteen secrets Daniela kept.(Note: the secrets are in chronological order but unrelated to each other, as they each concern a different person from the block. They can be read independently.)





	1. Sonny's Secret

There's no better time than the off afternoons at the salon when there's no one but Daniela and the occasional customer, not nearly enough to put stress on her. She'll often use those moments for her personal edification, of course, reading magazines to be kept up to the latest Hollywood gossip, or perfecting her already perfect nails. Putting some order in the back shelves that no one looks at too closely, but a clean and organized salon is a happier place for everyone, she's sure. And, of course, when the bells at the door do chime, there is no one standing between her and the juiciest secrets, no one stopping her from intimidating the innocent prey to her gossip-grasping clutches.

  


"I'm going to die!" The squeaky voice of the bodega boy's little cousin interrupts her all so important nail art, the second top coat, thank god, almost done.

  


Sonia − _no,_ she chides herself innerly, _Sonny, his name is Sonny_ − barges in dramatically, his hand on his forehead, ready to imminent catastrophe. She raises an eyebrow. Just that filthy hair and shirt might be cause for all that distress.

  


"Are you, now?"

  


"She will be the death of me!" He insists, dropping face first into the closest padded chair.

  


Daniela uncrosses her legs, looking at the little creature on his knees in her salon, asking herself if she ought to pat his back or call over his owners to get back their little moaning thing. But then, there is rumor to dig here, if only little children's troubles.

  


"And who would 'she' be?"

  


Slowly, he unglues his little red face from the cushion and sits cross-legged on the floor, staring up at her. She makes no movement to put herself at his level.

  


"Can you keep a secret?"

  


Daniela suppresses a smile, though not very well. She puts down the polish brush, secures it shut, puts the bottle back on its right shelf and shakes her hand to dry off her fresh art.

  


"Of course," she lies, but a gentle lie, her most honeyed voice. "I've never shared any secret in my life."

  


He pouts and looks away, then back, then away again. Slowly, he stands up and sits in the too-big salon chair, his head not even reaching the top of the seat. He swirls around a few times, settles for facing the mirror. And lets out the most tear-jerking sigh if she's ever heard one.

  


"I wish I had money for a haircut," he says longingly, off-handedly. "Maybe she'd find me more handsome…"

  


_Oh, but this little fool has a damsel to woo…_

  


"We have discounts for little boys on Wednesdays," she makes up on the spot. "One secret for one haircut."

  


"Really?" His voice radiates with excitement. "You really do?"

  


She gets her scissors, shoving a cushion in his arms for him to put it under his butt to raise himself to a level she could work with.

  


"Of course," she promises, "It only has to be a good one."

  


Sonny bounces happily, all the sadness of longing gone from him, and he sits upright, his best posture, waiting for her to get to it. She looks at him in the mirror.

  


"Oh, a secret first? Erm… I saw Usnavi making out with Lisa Perez the other day. He made me promise not to tell Abuela."

  


_A fine secret_ , she admits, _if only I didn't know that one already_.

  


"Oye, I said a _good_ one," she flicks his ear. He cries out but she pats his curls and he sighs again. "Who are you trying to impress, mijo?"

  


There is only the faintest hesitation in his eyes before he bites his lip.

  


"You promise you won't tell?"

  


She gestures her absolute reliability and Sonny nods. She gets to his messy curls, brushing the mud off them.

  


"Nina Rosario," he confesses, a whisper, but it's anything but shameful. He says the name like a prayer. Daniela could almost find it cute.

  


"The smart and pretty one," she smiles, though he doesn't see the teasing behind it.

  


He's nothing short of intelligent and _could_ be handsome, with the right clothes and good posture and a few teeth growing back. But then, little Nina is not so little anymore, in middle school now, Sonny's pre-assigned babysitter…

  


"She's so perfect…" He whimpers longingly, gesticulating to show his boasting love and she pushes down on his shoulders to keep him in place − if she's going to give him a free haircut, he ought to behave himself. "And beautiful and funny and so smart and I love her more than the sun."

  


Isn't that all so _cute_? Daniela nods, focusing on the hair. His curls are dense, harder to shape than Usnavi's flat hair but only because Sonny gets into messes all the time and Usnavi never has in his entire life.

  


"You think I should ask her to marry me? Because I miss her at recess, she used to play with me sometimes…"

  


Oh, what does a middle schooler need of marriage proposals? But then, Sonny's loving eyes…

  


"I think you might want to wait," she says tactfully. "Until you're a little bit older and you can get her a ring and a puppy."

  


His face falls and he pouts but nods.

  


"You're right… One day… Today she told me 'Hi' and I fell down on my face and got mud in my hair…"

  


He takes the haircut much better than he used to when he was littler, though in all earnest it's just a long-due trim and a double wash.

  


"You're not gonna tell anyone, right?" He asks again, grabbing her hand. "I don't want people making fun…"

  


Generally, Sonny looks nothing like Usnavi but in that instant he does, his big brown eyes full of fear and regret already, the anxiety that never leaves the older boy suddenly present in the young one as well. She pats his head with her free hand and makes a promise that for once, she's half-minded to keep.

  


The next day, his mother walks into the salon apologetically, something about being so sorry that Sonny extorted a free haircut from her, and asks how much she owes her.

  


"Oh, nothing," Daniela shrugs. "He paid in other ways."

  


"What?" She frowns. "What'd he do?"

  


"I can't tell you," Daniela replies. "It's a secret."

 


	2. Kevin's Secret

Kevin walking through the salon door is a rare enough sight. When it happens, he usually has Camila at his arm and often as not, they're bickering over something irrelevant. Daniela loves the Rosarios' visits, only for all the juicy bits she gets out of it. He's on his own today and she only has to take one glance at his face to know this one won't be entertaining. Not in the fun way.

  


"Buenos dias," he says, waving feebly. "Camila sent me to… Well, I need a formal haircut."

  


"Ooh, a fancy party to be?" She asks, trying to lighten the mood.

  


"Funeral," he replies and drops heavily in the salon chair.

  


She bites her lip, regretting her words, and as she wraps the salon cape around him, she makes sure to linger a hand on his shoulder in silent support. Kevin is not much of a talker, or not with her at least, and Daniela is not sure how to even start this conversation. She sets to work.

  


"My father," Kevin says eventually, more of a sigh than anything. "I'm flying to Arecibo tomorrow."

  


"I'm sorry, Kevin."

  


"We weren't… I'm sorry, I shouldn't be saying this, you probably don't care."

  


_That's what being a hairdresser is,_ she thinks. _Listening to people's problems. The poor man's psychiatrist_.

  


"Of course I care."

  


"We weren't close," he says and suddenly the words rush out in Spanish, like he'd been holding them for decades in his chest. "At all. I left without asking for permission, the last time we saw each other was when he tried to stop me and he wanted to slap me and I… I stopped his arm and told him that he would regret this day forever and that he'd never see me again. And I went to Camila to take her with me to Nueva York. I always thought… I thought there'd be time to go back and try to fix things."

  


She remembers hearing about that story, although in much vaguer terms, from Camila.

  


"He never even met Nina…"

  


"Is she going with you?"

  


He shakes his head.

  


"She's never been to Puerto Rico, you know?" He sighs. "I don't want her first time to be for a funeral. She's staying at Abuela Claudia's for the weekend."

  


Daniela thinks of her own mother, the bitch that she can be even after all these years. They flew to New York as a family when she was younger, when she was old enough to remember the feel of hot sand through her fingers and salt in the wind and to miss it, but not old enough that staying in Vega Alta on her own was an option. She hated the idea of coming to New York initially, not because of  how much she'd miss her island but because her mom would be in New York as well, of course. The day she left home at seventeen was the first day of freedom in her life. But then, she can't say that her fading away from her family has been as radical. There's still the Jewish holidays that her siblings don't let her forget and sometimes, she sees a hint of hope behind her mother's smile. Sometimes, reconciliation is not a voluntary process but a part of growing older and stuck with the same family. But then, it's easier when there isn't an ocean between you.

  


"If there's anything I can do…"

  


He shrugs and shakes his head, though manages a polite smile in the mirror.

  


"Nothing anyone can do."

  


She nods and gets back to her scissors.

  


"He had diabetes," he says, as if to convince himself that helped any. "And his heart was fragile, my abuelo also, you know… It wasn't… It wasn't a surprise for any of us. I talked to him on the phone a few months ago. He said he was doing fine but…"

  


"They always say that," she finishes.

  


"We could never _really_ reconcile," he says. "Not really. But I wanted Nina to… We were planning on flying him in, and my mother, for Nina's quinceañera in June. Probably my brothers, too. They have sons and daughters about Nina's age, it'd be good for her to… to meet them."

  


"They can still come," she points out.

  


"Cami says they should. She's probably right." He snorts silently, humorlessly. "She's always right."

  


"She is," Daniela nods.

  


She's almost done with the haircut, not much different from before − Kevin is a semi-regular customer already and she's seen him at some time in the past couple months, she's sure.

  


"This looks nice," he says when she shows him all sides with her hand mirror. "Muchas gracias."

  


He stands up, getting money out of his wallet without watching, his eyes still on his own new face.

  


"Mami will like it," he adds, almost just to himself. "She used to do our hair when we were little. Well, she shaved it off every few months."

  


Daniela's mom always used to send them to the salon. It was a solace Daniela always loved, the excitement of the chatter, the joy in idle gossip. When she went out into adult life, she never once hesitated as to what job was right for her.

  


"I'm glad," she smiles and takes the money. Her hand lingers in his when she hands him his change back. "Anything, heh? Just call, anything at all."

  


He doesn't call, of course, not before the weekend or after it and there is a sadness clinging to the Rosarios for the next weeks, even Nina. It only takes the quinceañera and a dozen little Rosarios from their island far away to take away the gloom. If one generation missed out on the proper relationship, the next one can make do.

 


	3. Benny's Secret

There's a bravado about Benny Daniela loves. You just have to look at him for two seconds and the boy flexes his muscles, grins, puts on a show of confidence and it works, it really does. Oh, he is definitely a bit try-hard, for sure. On a less charming boy, it'd reek of desperation. God knows his advice has never worked for Usnavi, but Benny wears his smug but lovable smile like a second skin that Daniela has never seen him without. Not until this morning.

  


"Do you want Carla to do your hair?" Daniela asks, a hand on his broad shoulder − twenty years old and already much, much taller than her, and still growing and bulking.

  


Benny looks up at her in the mirror in front of him, his eyes tired and distant and, she thinks, sad.

  


"Mmh?"

  


He has some lingering crush on Carla, if Daniela remembers well. Something about her smile, he always says.

  


"Do you want Carla to do your hair? I'm not a recording device, don't make me repeat again," she jokes, patting his shoulder.

  


Or maybe he _used_ to feel that way because there is zero interest in his gaze and demeanor as he shakes his head.

  


"No, just… You know what, you can cut it all."

  


" _What?_ "

  


He gestures towards his head, his beautiful cornrows that are her pride and joy.

  


"Cut those. I don't care. I wanna… I need change."

  


"Change? But…" She sees it even more clearly now, hidden behind his blinking brown eyes. This sadness clinging to him. "Oh."

  


"I'm try'na get over someone, okay? Don't ask questions. Leave like an inch or two. Make it look nice."

  


The sadness pools around him, trying to spread to her and it's hard to resist it. What else to feel but sadness when she's given the order to get rid of her masterful work? The boy has always had lovely hair, thicker than all the other boys around, hair that you can play with and shape up and do as you wish with. As an artist of her work she'll miss that. But she sees his pained face in the mirror, how he looks at himself in despair and disinterest and she knows to recognize priorities. And to think she had no idea he was even seeing someone… Her radar needs tuning. She sets to her task.

  


"So this is what heartbreak looks like… I hope she knows she made a big mistake letting go of a good boy like you."

  


"I said don't ask questions!" He says, jerking around to glare at her and she almost accidentally cuts him with her scissors in the process if she didn't take a step back. There's mood to be managed over here.

  


"Oye, I didn't ask any!"

  


She unbraids the beautiful work of last week, as much as it weighs on her heart.

  


"You don't know… You don't even understand the beginning of it."

  


She shrugs.

  


"That much is true."

  


He nods grimly and remains silent. Of course, she wouldn't know what being a spurned lover feels like, having never been one, but she knows a thing or two about loss. Everyone does. She gives him this, this brief moment of silence, slowly working at cutting the coily mass of his undone hair. He's so rarely without his rows, the cloud around his head gives him such a different persona for just this short while before she cuts it off. She thinks that maybe this is the Benny he's running away from.

  


The new Benny looks much more formal, handsomer. He looks the part of the serious cab driver who works his ass off every day to make his boss proud. Maybe this was a good idea after all.

  


"There," she says, combing through the last of it, what remains of his crop. "She's going to run back at you in no time!"

  


"No," he sighs, "No, that's impossible, he's been deploy…"

  


He freezes into place as soon as the words leave his mouth and on his face, the sadness gives way to hurt and even more than that, to fear. Her heart melts.

  


"Oh, Benny…"

  


He makes to stand up but she pushes on his shoulders to keep him seated. God knows he would be able to stand if he wished to forgo her demand, but he doesn't, instead sinks down, folds himself into two, his elbows on his knees, burying his face in his hands. She checks across the salon: Carla is busy chattering with a customer, doing fancy nail art. She plops herself down on the seat next to Benny and puts a hand on his thigh, a reminder that she's there, much kinder than she's used to. Slowly, the boy straightens back up.

  


"I'm not gay, okay?" He whispers with a touch of anger. "I like girls. I _love_ girls."

  


Daniela considers herself a rather talkative person, but she also knows when to keep silent. Usually, she knows and talks anyways but there are certain circumstances under which she listens to her good heart.

  


"I… We're _friends_ ," He insists. "Or we were, I'm not sure…"

  


He's twisting his hands torturously on his lap and she slides hers on top to still them. He quiets down, entwining their fingers without saying a word.

  


"So there is a boy," she says cautiously.

  


"Sam. I don't know if you know him… Well, you know everyone, you probably do. From the 181st, tall black dude? Always bare torso."

  


She nods. A Dominican boy, alone with his mom and two sisters. She had heard rumors about him being…

  


"And you two were…"

  


" _It wasn't like that_ ," Benny retorts with all the bite of youth. "We just, you know…" He makes some vague gesture with his hands that Daniela is ever so grateful Carla cannot see from where she's standing. "It was just a guy thing."

  


Daniela stares at him, who resolutely refuses to catch her eyes. She cannot believe for the life of her that she missed such a huge thing happening right here in her barrio. There was talk that this Sam boy wasn't much inclined for ladies, but Benny? She never had an inkling. And now with his lover boy deployed… An abrupt end to their little arrangement, certainly.

  


"I'm sure," she says.

  


"His mama couldn't afford three kids on her own," Benny says. "Not him and the girls, Jayla has her quinceañera in October too, and he said he felt like a burden. The Army was recruiting and… Well, you know the end."

  


There is a long silence, longer than Daniela can suffer, enough that she wonders if she should stand up and leave him be in his gloom, but then he speaks again and the emotion is gone from his voice, bitten back down.

  


"Nobody can know," he says starkly. "You shouldn't know, I shouldn't have said. Don't tell anyone, not even Carla. I'm serious, Dani."

  


Raising her hands apologetically, she puts her smirk back on her face and stands up.

  


"The way you talk, one would think I'm a tyrant."

  


He smiles.

  


"Yeah, you'd think that."

  


He checks himself out in the mirror, runs a hand through his newly short hair. His smile gets more genuine.

  


"Thanks, Dani, it looks great," he says. "It… Thank you."

  


"Any time for my favorite boy," she replies, taking his cash.

  


"I'm sure you say that to all the boys."

  


"Only my favorite ones," she winks.

  


And, with or without a lover boy, Benny will always top the list of her favorites.

 


	4. Carla's Secret

Daniela's little business isn't doing too bad. It's not a fortune, for sure, but she manages with what she has. These days, she's had to extend her staff to a third person. Oh, there was more to hiring Vanessa than just a need of new hands on deck. It wasn't done without a touch of charity, though she will never tell the girl. Still, she likes having an extra to help around. It lets her take a morning off every once in a while, or even her girls. Vanessa, poor little thing, makes great use of her one morning off allowed each week, but sweet Carla never does. She says she likes the salon too much and would miss the ladies from home.

  


"Vanessa?" Daniela asks after checking the time once more this morning.

  


"Mmh?" Vanessa replies with disinterest, not looking up from her nails as she pushes her cuticles with a coffee stirrer.

  


"Have you seen Carla?"

  


"Why would I have?" Vanessa frowns and charity or not, damn it if Daniela doesn't want to flick her ear sometimes.

  


"Bueno, nevermind that…"

  


Their first client walks in, then another one but although Daniela is kept busy, she can't help checking the clock on the wall and shaking her head. Carla is _never_ late. Often as not, she's as early as Daniela and they share an extra moment of light chatting just the two of them before the day starts, telling each other all about the news of the previous day. _Would that Vanessa would grant me the same_ , she thinks but her thoughts are interrupted by the chiming of the bells at the entrance door. Guilty as sin, Carla tries to sneak into the salon unnoticed, and even in a normal attire, Daniela would've only had eyes for her odd tardy appearance. How much more does her arrival stand out when she's wearing this…

  


"What's with the hat?" Vanessa asks, pretending to hide her mocking smile.

  


Carla's cheeks turn pink and she shuffles in embarrassment.

  


"Oh, that's, erm…"

  


It's not that Carla never wears hats. She has a whole array of adorable, if a bit quirky beanies with all sorts of pompoms and fringes. She doesn't tend to wear them in August, though.

  


"C'mon, Carla, take it off, it looks dumb."

  


Vanessa tries to pull off the guilty item (playfully or not, Daniela cannot say), but Carla squeaks in surprise and jumps back out of reach. Daniela squints her eyes.

  


"Carla," she says quietly in all her authority. "Backroom, now."

  


Sheepishly, Carla and her flashy purple beanie follow Daniela to the narrow closet at the back end of the salon. The door closes and Carla stares at the floor with the cutest pout on her lips.

  


"What's the matter? Shaven short?" Daniela asks, though she sees the mass of Carla's curls bulking up the knitted hat.

  


"No," Carla sighs and with great pain, she removes the last barrier protecting her shame.

  


Daniela bites back a smirk − some people can handle teasing and others crumble under it, and Daniela knows which of her two girls is which. Instead of her deep auburn shade, Carla's hair is striped with strands of blue, red, even pink and purple.On a sweater or a scarf, the pattern might make a beautiful mix of hues. On Carla's head…

  


"Mi amor, what have you done…"

  


Carla throws her hands to the sky.

  


"I don't know! I tried to fix it this morning but I think I made it worse…"

  


Daniela palms the colored strands. They're not quite as bristle as straw as overdyed hair can turn, but they're definitely heading more in that direction than Carla's natural fluff.

  


"Ay bendito… Why did you decide to do this?"

  


Carla plops down onto a pile of boxes, her frown tinted with shame. She mutters something inaudible.

  


"Carla," Daniela says, a hand at her hip. "What's my rule?"

  


Carla stares at her with bewildered eyes and Daniela sighs. Maybe she does have too many rules at the salon…

  


" _No mumbling_ ," she clarifies. "Tell me clearly."

  


Carla takes a big breath of courage.

  


"I, erm… I thought it'd make me look less ordinary… I thought it'd be nice to be special and not boring." She looks up at Daniela again, her lips still shivering in self-pity. "Is it really bad?"

  


_Sí_ , Daniela thinks but her soft spot for Carla silences her.

  


"Nothing I can't fix," she says, cupping Carla's cheek tenderly. "Wait for me here."

  


She opens a sliver of the door, not enough for Carla to be in plain sight.

  


"Mija," she calls out to Vanessa who is manicuring her second customer already. "You take care of the shop for a while, okay?"

  


Vanessa looks at her all wrong but now is not the time to bother with that. Daniela shoves Carla's hat back onto the mess of her hair, grabs all the supplies she needs, the right shade, and pushes Carla to the bathroom under Vanessa's glare and the eyes of a few customers waiting for their turn already with two pairs of hands busy to something else.

  


"You think it's going to be okay?" Carla asks once the dye is setting.

  


Her voice is betraying her nerves and Daniela pats her shoulder reassuringly.

  


"Of course," she says. "When have I ever failed you?"

  


Carla giggles, holding Daniela's hand.

  


"Thank you, Dani."

  


"But you'll promise me one thing."

  


The caveat seems to frighten her again and Daniela punctuates the demand with a smile. She does care so much about her girls. Rainbow hair or not.

  


"What is it?" Carla asks in a timid voice.

  


"You're not going to try to dye your hair again," Daniela orders. "Not some freakish color."

  


Carla's shoulders sag in relief.

  


"Oh, never on my own again! I'll come straight to y…"

  


" _No_ ," Daniela cuts her. She takes Carla's face between her hands and makes her look into her eyes. "You're a very special girl, you understand me?"

  


Carla tries to look away and, unable to, closes her eyes.

  


"No, I'm not."

  


_Where's this coming from?_

  


"Yes, you are, you don't have to ruin your hair for people to see that, mi vida."

  


"But… You and Vanessa, you're so… strong… I thought that if I took a stance, maybe I'd…"

  


"Be more like me? Or like Vanessa?" Daniela laughs. "Mija, I couldn't handle two urchins like her. I'm happy you're exactly as you are."

  


The timer rings and Daniela starts her work on Carla's hair again in silence.

  


"You really think so?" Carla asks once Daniela isn't staring into her eyes anymore.

  


Daniela leans down and kisses her forehead.

  


"Of course," she says. "When have I ever lied to you?"

  


It's a relief, Daniela tells herself after the dye is done and the hair blow-dried to its former glorious curls, to see Carla's perfect head again as it should be. She gives her a quick hug for the form and an insistent look on their way out. The salon is filled with a line of impatient ladies and Vanessa seems at the end of her nerves.

  


"What the fuck were you doing in there?!"

  


"That," Daniela says, pinching Carla's cheek affectionately, "Is a secret."

 


	5. Yesenia's Secret

Daniela is quite used to receiving a whole brood from the same family at a time when a mom decides all her kids' hairdos have become revoltingly long and are in need of refreshing. Even cousins: it wasn't too long ago that Claudia still sent Usnavi and Sonny her way for a new manly look every few months. What is unusual is grown-ass siblings still scheduling themselves appointments together long after they've left the family nest. Daniela will never understand why someone would live and breathe with their siblings when they can just escape.

  


"I need to go first," Julio proclaims, barring his sister's path on their way in. "I'm meeting with José in a bit."

  


Yesenia nods with a smile that hides a thousand secrets and lets him pass to Vanessa's free station. Daniela is quite happy with this arrangement.

  


"Que prisa tiene," Daniela comments, inviting Yesenia to her side of the salon, and prepares the clippers. "Which José is that?"

  


Yesenia glances over at her brother, who is barely paying attention to whatever Vanessa is asking, eyes glued to the screen of his phone. Still smiling.

  


"Liquor store," she replies. "The blond one."

  


Daniela scans through her memories before finding the one. _Only blond because I make him so_ , she thinks. She sets the clippers to the right setting. A salon owner must always give her customers what they want and try not to judge (and God knows Daniela has to _try_ sometimes). Yesenia always asks for as a short as can be without being completely bald, something she never needs to style, and Daniela always gives her exactly that and keeps her thoughts to herself when she's in ear range.

  


"I didn't know they were…" She lets her silence complete her meaning.

  


Well, she knew they _were_. Individually. She's happy to learn that they happened to put two and two together, though probably not as happy as either of them. Still completely enthralled in his texting flow, Julio is not paying any attention to them, not even Vanessa as she is giving him a new handsome style, presumably exactly as asked, his usual shorter on the sides and fluffy curls longer on top. Yesenia waves a shushing hand and Daniela starts the clippers. There's not much to cut, barely an inch of hair left on her head, but if she requests her services to have it cut to half that, she'll get that.

  


"They don't want me to know yet either," she whispers to Daniela.

  


Daniela frowns, staring at the other side of the salon where Julio's curls are getting trimmed. He suddenly laughs at something the other person wrote, his thumbs hurrying to reply. He hasn't said a word to Yesenia since they entered together.

  


"He's been like this for days, it's ridiculous. He hasn't told me _anything_."

  


"No?" Daniela asks incredulously. "What are they waiting for?"

  


Julio is smiling at his phone, clutching it to his heart under Vanessa's glare. There's a sudden chime at the door and said Julio jumps to his feet to hug the newcomer. Blond José from the liquor store has come to pick up his prince charming.

  


"Yes', you gonna pay for me too, right?" Julio asks as he stands up and Daniela is not even sure Vanessa has finished her work. From the frustrated look about her, she might not have.

  


There's a flurry of smiles and laughs on their way out that makes Daniela want to spread the news around the whole block. It's cute, in a way, how love radiates even without definite evidence. Their smiles might as well have been kisses.

  


"They think I haven't found out on my own," Yesenia sighs. "Dani, you can't tell anyone."

  


Offended, Daniela pretends to clutch her pearls.

  


"Me? Spreading gossip?"

  


Yesenia snorts and even Daniela joins her, patting her shoulders playfully as the last of her short hair is cropped close.

  


"I'm serious!" She says, the last of a laugh still at her lips. "I don't want them to be out before they're ready. Besides, I haven't even caught them redhanded."

  


"No? What a shame."

  


It's a slow afternoon, not yet the time of the year when communions come rushing together and every kid on the block needs a new haircut, not the summer either with all the weddings. Even after the clipping is done, Daniela has time for idle chatter.

  


"So…"

  


She sits there expectantly, her body a wall against Carla and Vanessa's potential prying ears across the room, putting Yesenia all at ease.

  


"So what, I'm not the only gay child anymore?"

  


Daniela laughs.

  


"That," she admits, "And also, the story. I know yours already."

  


Yesenia is still smiling and gesturing Daniela to come forward.

  


"I had a look at his phone while he was in the shower," she confesses. "Didn't see much but he had Grindr installed and you know what _that_ means…"

  


Daniela nods, trying to hide her smirk, but not very hard.

  


"Then the other day, he 'had to work late' and came home like, at midnight… He works at the library!"

  


"Que sucio," Daniela comments, but Yesenia frowns.

  


"Not that word, please. Not for boys like him."

  


"Yes, I'm sorry."

  


Yesenia nods before going on.

  


"And now they're texting or hanging out non-stop and he's pretending he's my happy straight brother."

  


"Bueno, he _is_ happy…"

  


Yesenia starts to stand up, paying for two and gathering her things.

  


"Yes, he is," she says, putting her coat back on. "But you know who's gonna be happier?"

  


Daniela cocks her brow inquisitively.

  


"Me," Yesenia replies evidently. "When I catch him."

  


"That is my idea of a plan," Daniela says, petting Yesenia's freshly shorn head.

  


"Don't tell anyone, alright?"

  


"You know me," Daniela shrugs fake-timidly.

  


"And when my plan has worked, you'll know," Yesenia says. She laughs. "Oh, _then_ , you'll know."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know technically Daniela does tell this one, kinda, but the secret is not the whole affair, it's limited in time, okay?


	6. Vanessa's Secret

Vanessa is a prickly little thing. She's bad tempered as often as not and her sour moods come in all nuances of flavors. Of course, Daniela will unabashedly respond to some of Vanessa's mild bad moods with a tease and a smile. There's not much more to do when her angry little worker steps into the salon like she's being dragged here. When she acts the wet kitten, Daniela just can't resist poking at the fluffy fur, pulling on those ears and she always gets a hiss or two.

  


But then, there's days when the kitty ought to be wrapped in warm soft towels and petted and no matter Daniela's inclinations, she supposes she should play that part too when it's needed.

  


"Can I talk to you?" Vanessa asks bluntly the second she's put a foot inside the salon that morning.

  


She gestures to the small backroom and doesn't wait for Daniela's answer before heading across the salon under Carla's curious gaze. Carla and Daniela stare at each other befuddled and Daniela shrugs and follows into Vanessa's steps, closing the door behind her.

  


Vanessa was pacing the narrow space but stops in her tracks as soon as Daniela walks in, dropping on the only cheap plastic folding chair in the corner, her face between her hands. She lets out the loudest, heaviest groan of frustration Daniela has heard in her life and for once, she's more tempted to hug it out than tease her. She doesn't do either. When Vanessa looks up at her, who has stayed by the door, arms crossed, Daniela has never seen such pitiful eyes and she suddenly remembers how young Vanessa is. Isn't she just turning nineteen in June? She could pass for even younger in this instant.

  


"Can I…" Vanessa starts painfully, sighs, goes on. "Can I get my paycheck early?"

  


Daniela doesn't know what demand she was expecting. Certainly not money troubles. Taken aback, she hesitates and that flickering instant of silence is enough to make the girl doubt.

  


"Please," she begs. "I'll do anything, I'll… I don't know what I'm gonna do…"

  


_There's the kitten_ , Daniela thinks. _Someone licked her wrong or kicked her and now she's meowing for help._

  


"To pay for…?"

  


"Food," Vanessa says with a tint of shame. "And bills. They shut off our power yesterday."

  


There's a heaviness at the pit of Daniela's stomach. She knows of Vanessa's troubles, of course. Even if she didn't know personally, there's bochinche going around and Daniela is the first to hear it, to hear of Vanessa's drunk of a mother who can't pay for her child since she lost her job, even after they downgraded housing. It's the whole reason Vanessa works here in the first place, why she dropped out of school. She puts her hand on Vanessa's shoulder, trying to be tender even if that never comes naturally to her. Vanessa stares at her and gulps.

  


"Let me get something," Daniela says and leaves the closet, shutting the door behind.

  


From the other room, she grabs her purse and shakes her head at Carla's inquisitive eyes on her way back into the back room. She pulls out her checks and a pen, licks her finger to tear a page off the pad.

  


"You'll have a check now," Daniela tells Vanessa, leaving the space for the amount blank. "And then you'll get your paycheck on Monday just like Carlita."

  


 The girl's eyes widen with surprise and something else that's not quite happy.

  


"What? No! Daniela, you can't just…"

  


Daniela cuts her by shoving a perfectly manicured finger against her lips. When Vanessa grunts in discontent, Daniela grabs her hand and wraps it around the check.

  


"You're not starving on me, okay?" She says, grabbing Vanessa's cheek to catch her eyes. "And you're not living in the cold and dark if I can help it, mija, summer is not there yet."

  


"Yeah, but…"

  


"But _nada_ ," Daniela insists. "I know the paycheck isn't much."

  


If she could, she'd give her girls a raise, of course. If she could, she'd pay off her own debts and buy herself a penthouse in Atlantic City.

  


"It's enough," Vanessa says uneasily. "Well, not really, but… Mom doesn't buy food when she should. Not food."

  


Daniela frowns, crosses her arms, _tssk_ s.

  


"This is not for her drinks," she says, nodding towards the check that Vanessa is clenching in her fist. "Vanessa, I'll do anything for you but I won't support your mother's dysfunction."

  


"I _know._ I… I know. This is just for food and bills, I told you."

  


"Good," Daniela nods. She hesitates before pulling Vanessa to her feet. "Come here."

  


Vanessa tenses into the hug before realizing what is happening, but by then Daniela deems it's gone on long enough and puts back an arm's distance between them.

  


"Can you, erm, keep this just between us?"

  


"Keep what between us?" Daniela winks and gets back to work.

 


	7. Claudia's Secret

Of course, Claudia is everyone's favorite customer at the salon. Who else? Everybody knows and loves her. Carla has known her since she was a little girl and her abuela was friends with Claudia and they went to church together with Usnavi every week. Vanessa, even their little grump lights up around Claudia, who has been a part of her life as well ever since the Rosarios got their daughter the best replacement grandma they could and Vanessa and the girls were inseparable already. And Daniela has known Claudia the longest, ever since she landed in New York and her mom thought she needed a rolemodel. God knows she has found one.

  


"Mira p'alla!" Daniela cries out in joy. "The most beautiful!"

  


Usually, Claudia dismisses the compliments with a tender smile and a wave. Today, her eyes are unfocused, staring blankly at a distance. Daniela frowns, a hand on Claudia's arm.

  


"Claudia?"

  


Claudia blinks and seems to realize where she is and Daniela hides her worry. Instead she gives the old lady a charming smile and invites her to take her arm to walk to the closest salon chair.

  


"I'm doing Abuela Claudia's hair," Vanessa decides all on her own and God knows that when this girl has an idea in mind, it is not to be budged.

  


"I'm doing her nails!" Carla adds and though Daniela knows that Claudia is not much for fancy manicures, she's too gentle of a soul to say anything to Carla's puppy eyes.

  


And so, Daniela is left with nothing but an empty seat to sit on and chat. Her worry from earlier turns out to be growing stronger by the minute. Claudia's soft conversations and smiles are erratic today, lost in her thoughts, and after the third time she asks Vanessa how her mother is doing, Daniela chooses to intervene.

  


"Claudia," she says, grabbing the hand Carla is not working on. "How _are_ you?"

  


"You know me," Claudia replies. "A fresh breeze and a cup of coffee and I'm as right as I can be."

  


"Daniela's right," Vanessa chimes in and wouldn't Daniela just want to make her repeat that again just to record it special, "You're faraway today."

  


Claudia lowers her eyes bashfully.

  


"Forgive me," she says. "My mind is elsewhere…"

  


There's a glance of worry between Vanessa and Carla, who of a common accord give Claudia a touch of support, a hand on each shoulder, the beginning of a hug. Daniela squeezes her hand.

  


"You can tell us anything!" Carla says. "We're here for you, always."

  


Claudia takes a big breath. If she has to be honest with herself, Daniela is quite relieved that Claudia's distractedness was founded. The talks you hear about beloved elderly whose health does not bless them as they deserve…

  


"I… The bodega closed down on the 181st."

  


"Which one?" Vanessa asks bluntly.

  


"Romero Bodega," Daniela replies, bulging her eyes at her to be more compassionate. "Right around the corner."

  


She frowns. She heard the news from Usnavi himself who, though beside himself with shared grief, was also relieved that his little family bodega was not the one so close to the brink. She wonders what Claudia might have to regret about it.

  


"Oh, you don't need to worry, Abuela Claudia," Carla says with kindness. "Usnavi's shop is safe, he'd never let it close down!"

  


Claudia shakes her head.

  


"No es eso," she replies. "It's… ah, it's nothing."

  


"It doesn't sound like nothing," Vanessa points out, getting back her scissors to give Claudia her usual haircut − nothing fancy, not ever.

  


Claudia sighs, lets herself be pampered some more. The hand Daniela is holding is fidgeting.

  


"I…" The words come out slowly, ashamed. "I used to buy… things… there."

  


"Oh my god," Vanessa blurts out. " _Did you buy secret condoms to have secret sex?!_ "

  


Carla and Claudia cry out and make a cross sign at the same time and Daniela has to smirk.

  


"No!" Claudia squeaks out. "Daniela, you should control her a little bit! She's turning naughty."

  


Daniela pats Vanessa's shoulder.

  


"Trust me, Claudia, this one cannot be tamed."

  


"What?" Vanessa shrugs. "Honest guess."

  


Claudia shakes her head, _tssk_ ing.

  


"If it wasn't _that_ …" Carla starts.

  


Claudia takes all her courage. Her mouth opens once, twice without a sound before she finally confesses her shame.

  


"I… used to buy cookies there. They don't sell that brand anywhere else."

  


"I'm sure you could ask Usnavi to order them for you," Carla points out. "His bodega has everything."

  


Claudia sighs heavily.

  


"Can you girls keep a secret? It's, well, I don't want Usnavi to know."

  


Vanessa lets out a repressed snort.

  


"Why would we tell him?" She says, just a bit too loud. "Nobody here talks to Usnavi that much, am I right?"

  


Daniela pinches the bridge of her nose and Claudia and Carla choose to ignore this.

  


"Bueno, when Mamá was still with us, alabanza," she sends a kiss to the sky or at the very least the ceiling. "She used to always have that brand and give him some cookies when he came to visit − he was so young… When she passed, he asked if I could bake him cookies like she used to make and I've just never had the heart to tell him they were store bought, I've pretended all these years… And now I'll never be able to find them when I run out…"

  


"Oh, I can help with that!" Carla peeps immediately and all heads turn to her. Proud of herself, she grins.

  


"You can?" Claudia asks doubtfully, raising an eyebrow.

  


"Mami does this with me all the time," she explains. "She makes something and I guess the recipe. It's like a game, my brothers never win, but… I could totally recreate the recipe so you could bake them for him!"

  


"Mija, you would save my life!" Claudia says, her shoulders sagging in relief. "I'll give you my last pack and he will never know."

  


Claudia never does get to bake the cookies, though Carla finds the recipe alright. There's a thing with old people, and God forbid young ones as well sometimes, that thing when they pass away and leave a trail of mourning souls behind. Daniela tells herself that at least, Claudia never had to let Usnavi find out about her oh so shameful secret.

  


Of course, everyone is invited at the home she left to Usnavi and of course, he swears he'll always keep the door open like she used to. Carla asks Daniela to pay him daily visits to keep him company through harsh times. Today, she brought him a container of home baked cookies.

  


"I got the recipe right, I think," she says and Daniela pinches her cheek affectionately.

  


Vanessa is already there when they arrive, sitting with Usnavi on his couch, snuggling into his side. She puts a bit of distance when she sees them at the door, always left open. She shouldn't, Daniela thinks. There's a time for teasing and, though Daniela usually gives out more of that than the average person for sure, she also knows when to grant people their time. And if anything, she's relieved for both of them that their chase is over.

  


"Siéntase," he says, rushing to the kitchen to get the coffee and a plate of cookies.

  


Carla, sweet polite Carla doesn't mention the batch she made. She politely accepts the café con leche, the cookie, but her eyes bulge in surprise as soon as she takes her first bite.

  


"Claudia's cookies!"

  


Usnavi sits back on the couch, his hand naturally reaching for Vanessa's, and isn't that the cutest.

  


"Yeah," he says, his voice tired and whispery. "Actually…" He stares at the cookie in his own hand. "Can I tell you a story about these?"

  


All three girls stare at each other knowingly but don't say a word. Vanessa squeezes Usnavi's hand to prompt him.

  


"She… Well, she always liked to pretend she baked them herself?" He says and Carla's mouth drops open. Vanessa grabs herself a cookie, munches on it to hide her expression. "I don't know why, it was weird, but I rolled with it. They're so good."

  


" _Where did you get them?_ " Carla can't help asking.

  


Usnavi frowns, somewhat confused.

  


"Got them at my bodega," he replies simply. He leans over to grab the box and show it to her. "Here. We sell 'em in bulk."

  


Carla looks at the box like a mystery waiting to be decrypted, but in the end it's Vanessa who solves it.

  


"She couldn't read…" She whispers with awe.

  


And so Daniela doesn't have to breach Claudia's secret even after she left. It's all Vanessa who compares the boxes Abuela Claudia used to buy at Romero Bodega, fun size, thin and pink, to the bulk family-size boxes Usnavi sells at De la Vega Bodega, how the art is so different and stylized that Abuela Claudia never even knew they were the same product. They spend all night talking about Claudia while gorging themselves on the batch of cookies Carla baked.

  


The next day, there is a small sign in the cookie aisle of his bodega that says "Abuela Claudia Endorsed".

 


	8. Yolanda's Secret

The one good thing about moving to the Bronx is that Daniela learns who were actual friends back on the 183rd and who were just customers. And not just her, of course, Vanessa and Carla as well have their sets of customers who came back for the re-opening. Carla has a few church buddies, even her pastor, and Vanessa, well, Vanessa has her lover boy who picks her up from work so they can spend most nights together. It's only been a few weeks since they pulled the wool from their own eyes but Daniela sees the budding relationship go stronger every day already. Of course, Vanessa wouldn't say, she never does, but the way her eyes light up when the salon door chimes to the arrival of their favorite bodega owner…

  


It certainly is quite different from the way she glares at Yolanda when, around the time Usnavi usually arrives, she walks into the salon with the loveliest of smiles today.

  


"Buenos días," she says, the kindest voice as Vanessa stares at her the whole walk across the salon to sit down in Daniela's empty chair. "Que lindo el nuevo sitio."

  


"Yeah, right," Vanessa grunts, sitting down at her own station and putting order in her scissors collection.

  


Of course, the boy finds the right time to save them all from a bloody mess. Grin as large as the sun, Usnavi pushes open the salon door with a red rose in his hands.

  


"Oh, baby, you came," Vanessa says loudly.

  


_Oh, he's 'baby' now_ , Daniela thinks. _That is new._ Her jealous little employee makes an obvious show of receiving the flower, kissing him, hugging him and they leave with Vanessa's arm wrapped around his waist, not without one last glance sending all the dark thoughts in the world to poor Yolanda. The door chimes back closed and Carla stares at them befuddled.

  


"What was that about?!"

  


Daniela sits by the chair Yolanda is sitting on, preparing her manicure tools. Yolanda loves her nails, as she puts it, 'sharp enough to scratch a man's eyes out'. Daniela couldn't dream of a better request. Even coming from the girl whose name she happened to use in her foolish prank to Vanessa that one day…

  


"If I can share my observations," Daniela says with false modesty, in Spanish − always all Spanish with Yolanda, though she's fluent in English. "I'd say Vanessa is jealous."

  


"Jealous?" Carla frowns, sweet Carla who never noticed the core of Vanessa's spiel.

  


"Sí," Daniela says, her eyes on her work. Yolanda does have the prettiest nails, but keeps them so short. "She doesn't want to share her pretty boy."

  


"Que tontería," Yolanda blurts out. "I don't even _like_ boys."

  


She seems to catch her words immediately, tearing her hand from Daniela's artistic grasp, pasting it on her mouth in regret. Carla gives her a tentative smile and slowly, Yolanda shrugs and gives her hand back. _So the prank was wrong on all accounts,_ Daniela thinks. _This one is definitely not secretly having sex with Usnavi, now or before._

  


"Bueno," Yolanda sighs. "The cat's out of the bag."

  


Daniela starts filing her nails again.

  


"Who even does?" She says, trying not to make a big deal. "I don't like boys either."

  


_Or girls_ , she thinks, _not like that, but she doesn't need to know that_.

  


"Me neither," Carla says timidly.

  


And isn't this lovely, a batch of women happy on their own, or within each other's company? But it will do nothing to assuage Vanessa's jealousy… Yolanda stares at them confusedly, the relief of being understood still plain on her face after fearing the worst.

  


"You're also… ?"

  


"But _Vanessa_ ," Carla cuts her. It wasn't all that long ago, relatively, that she did her own coming out, and the topic is still more sensitive than it ought to be. "What have you done to Vanessa?"

  


_She did nothing. I did._ But Daniela isn't about to reminisce that moment. It's the life of telling harmless lies to get to the truth. Sometimes, they come up to the surface and have to be fished out. Sometimes, they're better left to sink down to the bottom.

  


"The question isn't what she's done to Vanessa," she points out. "It's what she did to Usnavi."

  


Yolanda thinks, rubbing her chin while Carla brushes her curls without asking, making herself useful or trying to get over the earlier awkwardness, Daniela cannot say.

  


"I barely know him," Yolanda answers truthfully. "I don't know…"

  


"Think," Daniela orders, hoping for her own sake that there is something. "Vanessa is a prickly little thing, she'll stay jealous as long as she still breathes."

  


Yolanda takes a long while to think about it, letting Daniela apply new nail polish on her, some cute red and pink design today.

  


"There was that night at the club…" She realizes eventually.

  


"At the club?"

  


"Yes," Yolanda nods. "He… tried to hit on me, I was uncomfortable so I said I didn't speak English, but I still wanted to dance…"

  


"I just push them away," Carla notes. "When I don't wanna dance with men."

  


"Bueno, sometimes you just want a good dance partner," Daniela says.

  


She can't count the nights she's gone to the club and enjoyed the thrill of the dance floor. She never gave anything more than a dance to anyone, but that can be the point of it.

  


"I just prefer to dance with you or Van and…"

  


" _Vanessa saw us_ ," Yolanda blurts out. "She must have seen us. It… It was the night of the blackout, I think they danced together after…"

  


_They would have done a lot more than dance if the blackout hadn't struck_.

  


"So she thinks you're after her boy," Daniela concludes.

  


"Well, she won't think that for long."

  


How Yolanda manages to explain things to her, Daniela will never know. But the next time she visits the salon, she gets greeted like an old friend by Vanessa and that's all the peace Daniela needs.

 


	9. Nina's Secret

Nina visits the salon at the new location, of course. Ever since she was little, she's come to see Daniela once a week and though they all missed her sorely when she was away, she's back home now and the ritual must start again.

  


"Well, mira quién es," Daniela says loudly when Nina makes her entrance that day. "I thought we'd lost you forever."

  


Nina, who is always punctual and arrives right at opening time with a smile and a wave every Thursday, Nina the good girl who studies when she should and doesn't get distracted by _boys_ , Nina pushes the door of the salon almost near lunch break, sunglasses hiding her pretty eyes, a cup of coffee in each hand still steaming, and with three hours to justify herself for. Daniela only has to take one glance at the shirt she's wearing as a jacket, much too large and tailored for a man, to know the bottom of it. In their corner where they were chatting, Carla and Vanessa's voices lower down to whispers and there is no doubt who the object of their hushed exchange is.

  


"Good morning," Nina mutters, trying to sound more chipper than she is, but her voice betrays her exhaustion. "I'm… sorry. Sorry I'm late."

  


Far from offended, Daniela gets her a seat and Nina downs her first cup of coffee like it's nothing. She so tries to hide her smirk but Nina doesn't make it easy. In the end, it's Vanessa who dares point the obvious.

  


"So… Did you have a nice night?"

  


Carla giggles like a little girl, and how depraved must Nina have gotten if even Carla gets it.

  


"Oh, hush," the incriminated Nina says. "I just…" With what is no doubt very few hours of sleep, her smart brains don't manage to come up with any excuse and she sighs, taking a sip of her second cup of coffee. "Don't tell my parents."

  


Daniela puts a hand on her heart, faking offense.

  


"I would _never_ share bochinche about my favorite customer," she says and Nina lets out the cutest sigh of relief, but Daniela gestures to her girls to come circle around their prey. "If you tell us _everything_."

  


Vanessa laughs, patting Nina's shoulder playfully, a meager comfort to getting caught in the den, Daniela supposes. Nina takes off her sunglasses and how tired and small her eyes underneath. She sighs oh so deeply.

  


"You girls are impossible," she says and even she can't hide her grin. "What do you want to know?"

  


" _Everything_ ," Vanessa repeats. "I never thought you'd be the one to do a walk of shame…"

  


_By the look of her, there is no shame involved in this_ , Daniela thinks. For all her tiredness, Nina has never looked more radiant.

  


"If you must know," she says with a roll of her eyes. "Benny invited me to spend the night. He made me dinner and we watched my favorite movie."

  


Carla _aww_ s, of course, anything to do with romance her favorite kind of gossip. Vanessa snorts.

  


"Oh yeah," she says, poking Nina's cheek. "You're sooo tired from all that movie watching…"

  


There's a blush starting to spread across Nina's face. She tries to hide it by drinking some more coffee but her cup is empty by now and Carla grabs it away to throw it in the bin.

  


"You shush," Nina says, trying to sound assertive, "You already know that kind of stuff, I tell you everything."

  


Another reason to be offended for Daniela, though she couldn't have expected Vanessa to share these details with her. The girl doesn't love gossip, at Daniela's great shame and sorrow.

  


"Walk us through the night," she demands, a hand clutching Nina's shoulder. "Don't spare any detail."

  


"Was it very romantic?" Carla asks, grabbing Nina's hand to file her nails. She used to be a nail biter but Daniela has tried to straighten her out of that habit this summer. She's quite sure her hard work will be for naught by the time Nina is thousands of miles away from the salon again. "Did he lit some candles? Did he put nice music?"

  


"Yes, he did," Nina admits, resolved by now that there is no way out of this but through. "He was busy this week with Benny's Taxis and we hadn't seen each other in a couple days and he wanted to make things nice."

  


"How many times did you do it?" Vanessa asks and how Daniela loves her for it, how her bluntness can come at the exact right time.

  


Nina turns around to stare at them in horror, trying to decipher if she can get out of this. She even tries her luck with Carla, who is looking at her with her big brown eyes. Out of options, she shrugs and her voice comes out tiny and shy.

  


" _Five_."

  


"!Wepa!" Vanessa shouts, raising her hand for a high five which Nina shamefully gives. "You must be so sore."

  


She seems to regret saying the words and closes her mouth at once. Daniela smells rumors. Poor Nina looks like she wishes Vanessa had said nothing at all.

  


"That's really none of anybody's b… I mean, I'm… _Shut up!_ "

  


"Santo cielo," Daniela comments. "Benny's Taxis still offers limousines. I knew it."

  


"Don't tell him I said that," Nina mutters. "It's not like it matters to anyone else anyways…"

  


"Aww," Vanessa goes, patting Nina's hair proudly.

  


"Benny's… What are you talking about?" Sweet Carla asks.

  


" _Benny has a big dick, Carla_ ," Vanessa snaps almost exasperatedly. "We went over this!"

  


Carla huffs and goes back to filing Nina's nails.

  


"Well," Daniela says, getting back to Nina. "That was enough details. We won't tell your parents."

  


"I mean, they knew I was at Benny's. Just… not the…"

  


"Not the hanky panky," Daniela smirks.

  


"I think we'll be married for five years and I'll still let them believe we sleep in different beds."

  


Vanessa snorts, but they have Carla's attention back.

  


"Aw, you think you're gonna get married?"

  


All in all, late or not, Nina ends up spending the day at Daniela's salon. She accidentally lets out a few more indiscreet details, for which they are all grateful − it can get pretty boring at the salon without new gossip. Even if this one will have to stay between the four of them at Nina's specific request. Benny's next visit to the salon is the most painful display of restraint Daniela has ever had to put up.

 


	10. Pete's Secret

There's faces Daniela sees more often than others, of course. Besides her little employees, she knows she can expect Yolanda every week, Isabela every other day for perfect manicures, even Juan Pablo who takes excellent care of his hair and visits every Monday, and so many others. There's already new regulars from the Bronx she's glad to have gotten to know. Some customers used to be a rarer treat like Usnavi, but these days, she sees him more than when she was working next door to his bodega.

  


A face she almost never sees, to her great grief, is Pete's. Not a surprise, of course − it's not like she can shave more hair off his head when there is none. Still, the boy is nice when he keeps his hands off Carla and Daniela wishes she'd see him more. He has barely stepped foot into the new salon, just once when Sonny came to visit for his Halloween hairdo. And even back on the 183rd, she doesn't think she ever saw him on his own, always with the bodega boy.

  


And most certainly, she has never seen him once with a flock of little girls trailing after him like as many ducklings. One, two, she soon counts a whole team of basketball.

  


"And who is this?" She asks, watching them all come in as they chatter, loud and proud, all grabbing Pete, two at his hands, the others holding his legs or shirt.

  


"Shut up," Pete grunts at Daniela. One of the little girls gasps in shock and Pete, poor little Pete pats her head. "Don't tell Mom I said that."

  


"I won't tell her if you let me play with your fancy pens," the girl says and Daniela loves her already.

  


"They're not pens, they're markers, I told you… Ugh, _fine_."

  


He turns back to Daniela and doesn't she just love the despair in his pale eyes? Sometimes, she fears she's turning too sadistic for anyone's own good. Beside her, Carla is already fawning over the five girls, all more adorable than the other, and even Vanessa is smiling at the pretty picture.

  


"Look, can you do their hair?"

  


"I'll do it!" Carla volunteers, already offering her hand to the closest girl and leading her to the chairs, heaping a bunch of cushions on it before seating her on top.

  


"Vanessa," Daniela gestures. "Take good care of our guests."

  


"Just don't cut too short!" Pete cries out as Vanessa hoists up one of the small girls in front of her station to make her look at the book of pretty girls' haircuts. "It gotta look nice."

  


"I only do nice haircuts, thank you," Vanessa says, sticking her tongue at him and he snorts.

  


Daniela crouches down to the level of the remaining girls still clutching Pete's legs like their life depends on it.

  


"Now, who wants to look at beautiful magazines while I talk to Petie? Carla and Vanessa are going to take care of you real soon."

  


The girls squeal excitedly at the suggestion and Daniela manages to find them a spot in the salon where they can have a look at her fashion revistas without overhearing her too much. When she turns to Pete, she gives him her most wolfish grin, leading her to her station. She palms his scalp − there is probably a millimeter of hair or two that she can shave off here if she really tries.

  


"So," she says knowingly, rubbing his skin with shaving cream, massaging. "I didn't know you had so many children."

  


"Don't be dumb," he rolls his eyes. "That's my sisters."

  


She looks at all the little girls. She's sure she must have seen at least some of them on occasions, the way you eventually see each person of the block at some point when you run a salon. Not all five at the same time, though, and certainly not all six. When she has a good look at them, she thinks she recognizes the shape of their eyes, the dimples in the youngest's smile, the obvious resemblance with their brother. What a lovely family. The girls ranging from kindergartner to probably middle schooler at most, he must feel very alone at home.

  


"Poodle," a little girl says, pulling on Pete's hand. Daniela hadn't even noticed her coming up. "Can you come and play with us?"

  


He looks at her like she's just offered him a trip to prison.

  


"Don't call me that," he hisses. When the girl's lip tremble in disappointment and hurt, his eyes immediately soften and he pulls her into a hug. "I'm sorry, sweetbug, I just… can't come play right now, okay? When we're home."

  


The girl nods and gives her a kiss on the cheek before trotting off to join back her sisters who are playing princesses in their lovely dresses. Daniela says nothing, careful to not hurt him as she makes his beautiful head shiny and bald as an egg again. They're quickly interrupted by another girl, fresh out of Vanessa's hands, come to show off her new beautiful curly bob to her brother.

  


"Look, poodle, I'm so pretty!"

  


"Yes you are," he replies, taking her hands and pressing a kiss on them. "You're the prettiest."

  


"I know!" She grins and joins her sisters while another girl takes her seat to have her hair done.

  


It's magic, almost, how Pete goes from the sweetest smiles with the girls back to glaring at Daniela like she's stolen his puppy. When she's done with him, two of the girls grab him, begging him to be the prince in their story and for the shortest time, he almost forgets he's at the salon and plays pretend with them, bows and everything. Carla and Vanessa keep glancing at him with a smile, or a taunting smirk for Vanessa, but don't dare stare openly in case the spell is broken and he snaps out of it. Daniela is sorry to let them go when everyone's hair is neat and done.

  


"Here," he says, handing Daniela the amount due. "And, er…" He looks left and right, the girls already flocking at his sides again, all so lovely with their ribbons and smiles. " _No one can know._ "

  


"I don't know what you mean, _poodle_ ," she replies with a wolfish grin.

  


"I wasn't meant to come with 'em! Mom was just too busy, is all… I had to."

  


"I think you're a great big brother," Carla chimes in, patting the closest girl's head tenderly. "Isn't he, girls?"

  


There is a loud cheer of approval and for half a second, Pete's eyes are clouded with fondness again before he regains himself.

  


"I got a _reputation_ ," he insists. "How much for your silence?"

  


He gets his wallet again but Daniela waves that away.

  


"I don't deal in money," she says. "I deal in information."

  


He looks at her quizzically.

  


"Three months of gossip," she explains. "Or Sonny will receive a very interesting footage of this aftern…"

  


" _Oh my god_ ," Vanessa blurts out. "Dani, you're the best."

  


"I don't know no gossip," he replies moodily. "How the f… How am I supposed to tell you anything?"

  


She pats his newly shaven head that smells of lavender after her good care.

  


"I'm sure you'll hear many interesting things when you lurk in the shadows, as you do."

  


The girls keep glancing between Daniela and Pete, clutching him and hiding behind his back.

  


"I don't _lurk_."

  


"When you're standing in the shadows," she shrugs. "With your gossip ears on."

  


Glaring all he wants, he accepts the deal, of course, and leaves the salon just like he came in, like a mama duck and her littles.

  


It's terrible, it is, that Pete keeps his promise and updates Daniela with the best of the best of the underground scene for the next few months. But fortunately, she never does delete the video of little Petie playing with the girls. Not just a bargaining tool, Daniela is not so hard-hearted that she doesn't enjoy watching it every once in a while.

 


End file.
